fizzybangs

You need a re-entry visa for your British passport then no hassles. Won't get back in without one. No good relying on citizenship papers. I know, been there and done that and with previous married name in passport! Name did not matter, just re-entry visa.

Well they told me on the phone that I'd be on wife pension but not really better off because if something happens to my OH and he is quite a bit older than me, I will only get 60th on my widow's pension of what I get now. They told me outright that it will not be counted as I was married to previous OH then and he gets his own UK pension in Oz. So my years married to him don't count!

I do qualify as I was on Income Support (Disability Pension) on 1st January 2015

Don't qualify as this has only been brought in in the last few years and not retrospective to the 1980's

Yes, which is why the CES lady told us to come back just under the year.

I sure was! For years! Thanks for info, will look into it for sure.

interesting and thanks for info and will look into it. We have transfered it now and will get a lump sum in March and our pension hasn't changed at all - yet!

CLARIFICATIONS I will have lived 'continuously' in Australia for 34 years when I get the Oz pension so I will get 34/35 worth of age pension. I have lived back in the UK for one 9 month peiod working and another 11 months but was told to return just under a year as up to one year can be classed as a 'holiday'. Therefore my pension will be portable on receipt. Had we stayed one more day over the year in the UK, even if back before claiming pension it would NOT have been portable for 2 years. I am in receipt of a UK aged pension via my husband. I did not have enough years of work there and they would not count my years as a foster parent being paid an allowance for the children in my care as 'working'. We have twice topped up my husband's UK pension which gets reflected in an increase for me too. The first time we received a call from the overseas pension dept suggesting he did. We got more in back pay than we has sent them! So we phoned and asked if we could do the same again, which we did. Can't do any more though or we would! I think 7 years worth may be the limit now. Any Australian pensionwill naturally drop when allowances are removed if abroad. For us it took 10 months to get our UK pensions back out of Overseas section. Once it was in a local office our UK pensions went up a lot but be prepared for that gap between Oz one dropping and UK one going up.

Wrong according to CES who did extensive research for us. If you are here the full year before, it becomes portable as soon as you fet it. If you are not here the full year before then you have to stay a further 2 years after getting it for it to be portable

Yes you are right

Chicken you are right and I have done that and am in Oz now. If I had returned just before my Birthday I would have has to stay in Oz 2 years for the pension to become PORTABLE! As I am here the full year before it will become portable upon retirement age instead

I wouldn't even consider that option for myself! The interest rates are lousy in the UK versus the interest we get on my SunSuper account! We have earned a heap of money in Oz since December, literally thousands and I rolled mine into pension before Jan 1st so deeming rules do not apply. Low income people in the UK do get help but it took us about a year before it was sorted last time. The ?dept seemed to want to know if we were actually staying and wouldn't move our pensions out of the Overseas dept until 10 months were up, we were registered to vote etc. at that time, when they moved it into a local office,mwe could gave applied for rent and rates relief etc. they were right to be sliw as by the time they moved it we were about to return to Oz! I am now here and will claim my Ozzie pension at 65 this year and it will then be portable. We HAD to go there to find out what we could claim so we could budget for our future as we could get no sense out of the Dept of Pensions! I am still under the part 2 pension subsidies which have now been withdrawn for future pensions which will be a flat rate of £130 per week for people born later than me. Life is an adventure but can be very complicated at times!

I want to know how everyone is getting on who has returned!

I will be rolling my super into an income stream in Australia and will therefore be deducting a set amount out of it which will be transfered to the UK. As that will be income in the UK, I will have to tell the department of pensions there and my total income (I get a part UK pension) will be what is taxable - that is if my income is over the tax free threshold in UK. If you were to stay in Oz and take it all out then as far as I am aware it is tax free over the age of 60 but then it depends what you do with it! If you are still here on your 65th Birthday then you can apply for the Aussie aged pension - if you leave before your Birthday you can't. Please note everyone that retirement ages now vary depending on when you were born so some people may have to wait until they are 67 for example. If you take it out and keep it in your current account it would become an asset and you probably wouldn't be able to claim a pension because your assets would be too high! If you put it into an income stream, then the same rules apply as above for the UK - only the amount that is withdrawn (either monthly, 3 monthly, annually or whatever you decide) is counted as income and your aged pension here would be reduced slightly depending on how much you withdraw. At the end of the tax year you would get your statement from Centrelink and another from whoeverf you have your income stream and presumably it is all income and therefore taxable - again only if your total income is over the tax free threshold. The remaining capital still in your income stream fund would not be taxable - only the amount withdrawn. This is what super was set up for - to supply an income in your old age. The UK is doing exactly the same although it has a different name etc.